New Beginnings
by moonysoracle24
Summary: When Delilah James transfers from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts, the American witch goes through more than she expected. Including, loss, love, and happiness
1. All Aboard

NOTHING BELONGS TO ME BESIDES DELILAH! ALL CREDIT GOES TO J.K. ROWLING

My alarm blared loudly as my eyes slowly opened. I pushed back the covers and slid out of bed, wiggling my cold toes. I looked around longingly. This would be the last time I'd wake up in this room until Christmas. Three months ago, this all would've seemed like a dream, but the pile of stuff at the door made it real. I pulled on my robe and walked downstairs.

My mother was sitting at the table reading "the Daily Prophet". I poured myself a cup of coffee. "Morning Del." She said. I yawned and nodded in response.

"Anything new in the news?" I asked.

"Oh you know. Same as it was three months ago."

I put a bagel in the toaster and leaned against the counter.

"Did they catch that Voldemort guy yet?"

Voldemort is a Dark Wizard who has been terrorizing all of the magical world for the past five years. My mother winced at the mention of his name. She put down her paper.

"Delilah, You-know-who is an extremely powerful Dark wizard. He grows stronger every day. One does not simply catch this fiend. You destroy him. And DO NOT say his name"

She picked up her paper and began to read again. So far, the conversation was going the right way, avoiding the s word. I yawned again. "Are you ready for school?" my mother asked. There it was. The s word. School.

"I'm not. Are you ready for school?" I added in with a little bit of sass.

"I am ready for school. Why aren't you?" she asked.

I blinked in astonishment. As if she didn't know. Ever since the "incident" last year, I haven't admitted any weaknesses. I struggled to say this, and I mean I really struggled.

"I'm going to be all alone, that's why."

You're probably thinking, "well that wasn't so hard to admit, right?" Wrong.

"Alone?" she cackled. "Why on Earth would you be alone?"

"Well it's not like I'll be going in 1st year, I'll be going in 6th year. Everyone already knows each other, everyone is already friends…"

I put my head down on the table. "I'll be so...alone."

Tears began to fill my eyes. My mom put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey," she said softly. "You're good at making friends. I know that it'll be difficult, but you'll have friends. Don't worry."

I sniffled and smiled slightly.

"Go get dressed. We'll leave in about 20 minutes, hon."

With those words she sent me upstairs. I pulled on a sweater, a pair of leggings, my lace-up boots, and pulled my long curly black hair into a low ponytail. I looked at myself in the mirror. In the reflection, a flashback of my summer ran through my mind.

I saw me and my mother painting my walls and decorating them. I saw all my books scattered around the floor while I tried to shelf them. I saw my closet, stuffed full.

Except for the walls, everything was bare. The bookshelf was deserted and my closet was hardly overflowing. When I moved everything in, my room felt small, and pocket sized. Now, it feels big. Too big for me to manage.

A soft breeze blew in through my window. It wasn't a regular breeze. No, it was a breeze that came once a year, reminding you that summer was over and all your time would now be devoted to studying. I crossed my room and closed the window. I looked around my room one more time. I had just gotten used to this place, and now I have to leave. I picked up my bags and began to walk. Just before I made it out of my doorway, my magic red panda, Suki, jumped onto my shoulder. Three years ago, me and my mother rescued Suki from a traveling magic circus in China, chained up and abused.

I laughed as she landed on my shoulder. "Haha. Couldn't forget you, Su."

I pointed to a cage in my hand. As soon as she saw it she shook her head vigorously. I should have known. She spent a good deal of her life locked up in a cage, so I let her stay on my shoulder. (I like that way better too) "We're gonna go someplace new, ok? And we're gonna stay there for a while." As I said this, she jumped off my shoulder and tried to go back into my room. The moment she lept, I grabbed her by the tail and pulled her onto my shoulder. "Oh no you don't. If I'm going to this place for nine months, you're going with me."

I walked down down the stairs to where my mother was waiting. We walked to the car and soon arrived at Kings Cross Station. Hundreds of people were flooding in. Both No-maj and Magic alike.

"So," I began. "How do we get to this 'Platform 9 ?"

"Oh it's simple. We just walk through the wall."

"Sorry, we walk through the what?!"

"The wall. But I've heard that running is easier."

She stopped suddenly and pointed a finger at a red brick wall between platforms 9 and 10. "There" she said. I watched as students and parents ran through. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Ready?" my mom asked. Before I had time to answer, she grabbed me on the back of the shirt and began to run. I had no choice but to run with her. As we got closer it looked as if we were going to run into the wall. At the last second we went right through.

We emerged on the other side of the wall. I looked up and saw a sign that said: Platform 9 . A great big scarlet train was steaming as students boarded and said a final goodbye to their parents. My mom set off to enter the train so I followed. She walked to one side of the train, and when I tried to follow, she stopped me.

"Woah. where do you think you're going?" she asked.

That was a stupid question.

"I'm going to sit with you, obviously."

"Oh no you don't. I have to sit with the lame-o teachers up by the front of the train.

You don't want to sit up there. Why don't you go find a compartment down the other end. maybe someone to talk to?"

My mother was very persuasive. It's one of the things that makes her special. I walked down the hallway looking for an empty compartment. It seemed that every compartment was either occupied by polite looking people, which I didn't want to talk too, or occupied by mean looking people, which I definitely didn't want to talk to.

Finally, I found one with only one person inside. A boy.

"Hi." I said. "Can I sit here? Every other place was full…"

The boy nodded slightly. I sat down, not knowing what to do. The boy looked like he didn't want to talk, so I didn't say anything. What a strange and unusual boy.


	2. A boy named Moony

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING BUT DELILAH!

ALL CREDIT GOES TO J.K. ROWLING

Over an hour had passed and the boy still hadn't said anything. He made no signs of life. If it weren't for his constant sighing, I'd have thought he was dead. As he sat there, I looked at him. He didn't seem to notice so I continued to look. He had brown hair and soft brown eyes. His face, though handsome, was covered in scars. Another hour went by. Was there no end to this extremely awkward train ride?

Another hour came and went. At this point the boy began to cry. It wasn't violent crying. It was soft crying. It was the kind of cry when you feel abandoned. I felt bad for him. I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what. He barely made a sound as he cried tears of neglect. I tried to ignore it, but I couldn't.

Just then, three boys came bursting in. A tall boy with messy black hair and glasses, a shorter (but still tall) boy with shoulder length black hair and an air of confidence about him, and a short boy with dirty blonde hair and watery eyes.

"MOONY!" yelled the boy with glasses. It looked like he was talking to the crying boy. At this point he had stopped crying. He wiped away some final tears and looked up brightly at the three boys. The boy with shoulder length hair leapt into the seat next to Moony, playfully squishing him up against the window laughing. "You didn't think we'd forget about you, did you?" he said. The boy with glasses plopped down next to him.

"Yeah, c'mon Moony. We're your best mates." he said.

"You're stuck with us forever." said the watery eyed boy.

They hugged a reuniting hug. Moony smiled a warm happy smile.

What a perfect moment this was. I tried to remain unnoticed, to blend in with the background. I felt a tingle in my nose. An awful, horrible tingle. One that couldn't be stopped once it started. I tried to hold it in, but then-"ACHOO!" I sneezed and they all looked at me. Great. Another beautiful moment i've ruined by sneezing. They all looked over at me. The boy with shoulder length hair got up and faced me.

"And who might you be?" he said almost seductively.

"Delilah. Delilah James." I said with one eyebrow raised in suspicion.

"My name is Sirius, but you can call me daddy." he winked at me.

"EXCUSE ME!?" I said.

Really? I haven't even gotten to this school yet and I'm already being hit on.

"Padfoot shut up!" said Moony. "I am so sorry about him. I'm Remus. Remus Lupin."

His voice was soft and smooth. 'Moony' must be Remus' nickname, and 'Padfoot' must be Sirius' nickname.

The boy with glasses turned to me and said, "I'm James Potter. But my friends call me Prongs." the boy with shorter hair realized that they were all introducing themselves. "My name's Peter, but my friends call me Wormtail." he looked embarrassed. "Please don't ask why…" I could evaluate the three of them immediately. Remus was obviously the smartest, James was the jock of the group, Sirius was the arrogant punk, and Peter was the lesser of the three. He was less smart, less athletic, and clearly not as confident.

"So what house are you in?" james asked.

"Thunderbird." I said automatically.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Sirius said. "We mean your Hogwarts house."

That makes more sense.

"Oh. I actually don't know yet." I felt stupid saying that.

"What do you mean you don't know?" sirius said in shock.

"I mean I'm an exchange student from Ilvermorny in America. I've never been to Hogwarts before." I explained.

"Ohhh." they all said in unison.

"There are four Houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." James explained. "Gryffindor are the bravest and the bestest. Hufflepuffs are really good at finding stuff. They're super nice and loyal, but they're kinda just there. Ya know? Ravenclaws are super smart and creative, but kind of snobbish. Then there's Slytherin. Gryffindor's natural enemy. Slytherins are evil, and cunning. Every dark wizard in history has come out of slytherin. Every one of them is bad."

"Except for Andromeda." sirius interjected.

The others murmured agreement. I was later told that Andromeda was Sirius' cousin. She, like the rest of Sirius' family was in Slytherin. Andromeda and a few choice distant relatives weren't as 'Pure-blood crazed' as the rest of his family.

For the rest of the ride we talked. I told them about Ilvermorny and what life in America was like. I told them that my mom was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. They all laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked. Sirius had to pull himself off the floor to explain. "Listen, no Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher has ever lasted more than a year. Ever." that had me worried. But my mom was smart. I'm sure she'll make it to next year. They said that the job was jinxed. After that, they told me all about Hogwarts. All about the staircases that move, the fascinating classes, and the 'wonderful time i'll have here'.

The train stopped and we all got off. "Wait guys," I said. "Since i'm new, but i'm not a first year, what should I do?" Remus looked at me. "Just come in with us. Dumbledore will know what to do." I shrugged, and followed them in.


	3. GRYFFINDOR!

I OWN NOTHING BUT DELILAH! CREDIT GOES TO J.K. ROWLING

Once inside, my first instinct was to pick my jaw up off the floor. The inside of the castle was breathtaking. Four long tables seated bunches of kids. It kind of reminded me of Ilvermorny. Now to find this 'Dumbledore' Remus mentioned. I tried to find the most whimsical looking wizard I could find. I finally found a stern looking old lady in a emerald green robes. "Hi, excuse me." I said to the witch. "My Name is Delilah James, and-" "Yes you're the new student. My name is professor McGonagall."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Professor, but I have a question, I-"

"You want to know what to do. Just sit down at any table and when the sorting of first years commences, Professor Dumbledore will call your name, and you will be sorted." she said.

I sat down next to Remus and the other three at their table. They, like the rest of their table mates, were wearing yellow and crimson ties and robes with a lion on it. I assumed that meant they belonged to the Gryffindor house. We watched as all of the wide-eyed first years took turns putting on a dusty old hat. At Ilvermorny, we have a much more refined system of sorting. You would stand on a large gordian knot surrounded by four statues: a Wampus, a Pukwudgie, a Thunderbird, and a Horned Serpent. A jewel is placed on each of the statues and whichever one lights up, that's the house you are sorted into. I am a rare case, I was sorted into all four of the houses. I was given a choice, and I chose Thunderbird.

Once all the first years were sorted and seated, a man stood up. I took him to be the Headmaster, the 'Professor Dumbledore' that I was told about. He sat at the very center of the table. "Welcome everyone, to another year at Hogwarts, but before we become too enchanted with our feast, I have an announcement. I would like to welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Annie James. Good luck Professor." he gestured to my mom, who stood up and gave one of her signature double-hand waves.

"Also, I would like to welcome a new student, Professor James' daughter, Delilah James." now he gestured to me. I felt a million eyes turn to me. I waved an awkward wave. "Professor James and her daughter have recently moved here from America, so I hope you will all be polite and accepting of her. Now, Miss James, would you please come up here so you could be sorted?"

Uh-oh. I stood up and walked to the front of the great hall. Everyone was watching me. I felt so out of place. McGonagall placed the crumpling hat on my head. I could hear it's voice inside my mind. _Well, well, well, what do we have here?_ It said. _A transfer student from america, well I can see into your mind. I know who you are even before you know it. You are very intelligent I see, loyal without end, cunning, and_ extremely brave. _With a good amount of sass and attitude put in. now this puts us in quite the predicament… you posses distinguishable qualities from all four of the houses! But what do you want? I know, GRYFFINDOR!_ The hat shouted.

A roar of applause and cheers erupted from the table I was sitting at. None cheered louder than Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter though. I looked back at my mom who gave me a meme face and a thumbs up. I ran back to the Gryffindor table and sat down between Remus and red haired girl. "Hi." said the red haired girl. "My name's Lily Evans. Welcome to Gryffindor." she seemed nice. "Hi."

"If you have any questions, just ask me or Remus. We're the Gryffindor Prefects."

"Thanks. Not to be rude, but what the hell is a Prefect?"

"You don't have those in America? Oh. well a prefect is sort of like a guide. We enforce rules, help lost first years, etcetera, etcetera…"

"We're basically overrated hall monitors." Remus interrupted. "I'm really glad you're in Gryffindor." his face reddened a little.

I blushed "Me too."

Once the feast began, people ate and ate. They caught up with each other and asked me what America was like. James and some other kid talked about Quidditch. Then, dinner was over, and the massive amount of students flooded out of the great hall. Before I could step out of the hall, Lily grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "Since you're new and we have a spare bed in our dorm room, you're gonna stay with us. I'm making Remus take the first years up to the tower so you're coming with me." she pulled me along the hallway, dodging people. I liked this girl immediately.

We ran up dozens of stairs until we reached to top of one with a door. The door had a picture of an extremely fat lady on it. "Password" said the painting. Lily looked back at me. "All the doors to the common rooms have passwords. Ours is 'Pride'." the painting swung open. Inside was a round room that was covered in red and gold. There was a roaring fire, cushy armchairs, books, and stairs that led to every dorm room. A bunch of students were sitting around talking . "c'mon." Lily said.

She pulled me up a flight of stairs that led to another door. She pulled the door open. The room was large and held seven beds in it. Inside there were five girls. A black girl with crazy golden hair was laying on a bed with a girl with straight brown hair and bangs. The two were sharing a cigarette and a bottle of fire whiskey. A girl with a pixie cut was sitting on her bed drawing a picture of a flower. One chunk of her hair in the front was longer than the rest. a girl with frizzy red hair tied back with a ribbon was sitting on a chair in a corner knitting a sweater with the letter "M" on it. And a girl with blonde hair and freckles was potting a strange looking plant. "Ladies," Lily said. "This is our new roommate, Delilah James." all five of the girls looked at me.

She introduced me to all the girls. The black girl with golden hair was named Dorcas Meadowes, the girl with dark hair and bangs was named Marlene McKinnon, the girl with the pixie cut was named Alice Fortescue, the girl with the sweater was named Molly Prewitt, and the blonde girl with the plant was Mary MacDonald.

"So," Said Mary. "You're the new transfer from America."

"Yes." I said

"Is it true that for thirteen years alcohol was _banned_?

"Unfortunately, yes. That was a thing back in the twenties."

"What size sweater do you wear?" Molly asked with a bright smile. "Screw it. I'll make you a large. Large sweaters always look good on Gryffindors."

They asked me dozens more questions and my head kept spinning.

"alright,"Lily said. "Lets let the girl breathe. Why don't you tell us about your life in America."

"Oh, well. Where do I begin?" I told them all about America. I told them about the great bands, the great food, and of course I praised Ilvermorny.

Marlene and Dorcas continued to drink, but once the clock struck eleven, they decided to stop drinking and go to sleep before they got drunk, they didn't want to be hungover on the first day. Despite their reckless-rebel attitude, they really care about their education. The six girls changed into their pajamas and crawled into bed. For some reason I couldn't sleep that night. I sat up in bed, staring out the window. Our room looked over the black lake, which looked magical with the moonlight sitting on top of it. Suki scampered onto my shoulder and fell asleep. As the night dragged on, my eyelids began to feel heavy. I fell asleep, and felt Suki's small heartbeat against me.


	4. The first day

I OWN NOTHING BUT DELILAH! ALL CREDIT GOES TO J.K. ROWLING

I woke up, expecting to be in a room draped with blue and cranberry red, but instead I woke up to a crimson room with six girls looking at me. The events of yesterday streamed through my head. "Morning." I said. I climbed out of bed and pulled on my robes. I tied my tie and filled my bag with my books. Looking at myself in the mirror I sighed. A year ago, I would have dressed in blue and cranberry robes. When everyone was ready, we walked to the Great Hall. "Hey ladies." Sirius said. Mary blushed as we sat down. James, Remus, and Peter were already there. We ate our breakfast and talked more.

"So, Delilah," Marlene began. "You've had a look around, is there anyone who you think is hot, cute, or adequate?" I looked at Remus and felt my face go red. The others must have noticed it because they began to laugh. My face went even redder.

"Oh don't be embarrassed." Lily said holding back a giggle. "He's cute. He's got freckles and he loves to read. I can tell he's your type."

Looking around, Remus was the only one near us with freckles and his nose in a book. He began to blush.

"Oh my god." Dorcas burst out. "HE'S BLUSHING TOO. AAAHHH!"

Both of our faces went tomato red. Now, James, Sirius, and Peter began to laugh.

"I-I I don't like him. I don't like anyone." I tried to explain. Of course that wasn't at all true. I glanced over at Remus again. He slightly frowned after I said that. For a while there was silence, then, Remus scooted next to me.

"So, what's your schedule like?" he smelled like fire wood and chocolate

"I have transfiguration, Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and then Herbology. What about you?"

"The same."

There was an awkward silence.

"So, I've heard there's this village full of cool shops in this kinda downtown place."

"Oh yeah. Hogsmeade. It's super cool. James, Sirius, Peter, and I know the place like the back of our hands. I- uh we could show you sometime."

I. he said I. did he mean himself?

Everyone began to get up to go to class. Me and Remus stood up and began to walk. I felt a hand touch my shoulder. "So." Said the voice of Sirius Black. "Transfiguration is really cool, McGonagall loves us. Potions isn't all bad, we usually make some stuff explode. The Charms professor is short as shit, but his class is fun. Try to get some extra sleep in History of Magic, that class is boring as hell. Defense Against the Dark Arts is usually fun but we always get a new teacher. Astronomy takes place at night so you can make up the lost sleep in History. And Herbology is always fun."

Lily walked beside me and James came running after her. "Hey, Evans! The first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up. We could go to tha-"

"Fuck off, Potter. I'm not going out with you." she stormed off. Wait, was she blushing and smiling?

"What was that about?" I whispered to Mary.

"James has been asking Lily out since third year. And everytime she shuts him down."

"Who do you wish would ask you out?" I said with a smirk

Mary looked back at Sirius who was using his wand to throw eggs at a greasy Slytherin. Mary looked back at the floor and blushed.

"He- um. I've liked him since last year."

"Who is it?"

"He's an arrogant ass but, his eyes and his smile intoxicate me. He doesn't seem like he'd be smart, but he's always one of the best in the year. His jokes are hilarious and he when he talks to me, he actually cares about how I am."

"Is it Sirius?"

"Yes." she whispered. I looked back at Sirius. He looked exactly like the type of guy Mary would like. He was tall, intelligent, rebellious, and attractive. But not my type however. I could tell right off the bat that Mary was a good girl. She got good grades, was a trademark blonde, and always made her family proud. I've seen these types of stories play out before. The good girl falls for the bad boy and they have a secret and wild relationship. I know from personal experience.

My ex was a grade- A bad boy/douchebag. He drank and smoked like a fiend and I was totally in love with him. He told me he loved me, and part of me believed it. But deep down I knew he didn't. Deep down I knew that he was hitting on and sleeping with other girls. When I got confirmed proof of it, I stood up on the table in the main hall, pointed at him, and shouted (so everyone would hear me), "My name is Delilah James and you sir, are a genuine asshole. It's over dickhead. And yes i'm going to keep your sweatshirt as a spoil of war. I'm going to keep it, to burn it." he didn't care that we broke up. Now he could resume his man-whorish ways publicly.

I walked into transfiguration class to see that the professor had given us assigned seats. (apparently last year four students caused so much trouble that they were now forbidden to sit near each other) I looked at the board to see that I was to sit next to Remus, James was to sit next to Lily, Marlene and Dorcas next to each other, Sirius and Mary, Alice with a boy named Frank, Molly with a boy named Arthur, and Peter next to a blonde hufflepuff boy. A cat scampered up to the professor's desk and magically turned into Professor McGonagall. "Welcome again to another year of Transfiguration. This year, you will be taking your N.E.W.Ts. We will start today off with a look at transforming animals into statues. Now I know this is a little advanced, but if you want a place in my class next year, then you better learn this."

Suddenly, Suki appeared on my desk and looked at me like she'd been kidnapped.

"Who's this?" Remus said looking at Suki. He was petting a sandy brown bunny.

"This is Suki, she's a magic red panda my mom and I rescued on a trip to China three years ago."

"She's adorable. This is John Lennon."

"I'm sorry did you just say 'John Lennon'? Like the Beatle John Lennon?"

Remus blushed. "Yeah. I know i'm a loser, but I really like their music. They've helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life."

AAAHHHH! Could he be anymore perfect? He likes the beatles, he has a bunny, has freckles, loves to read, and he thinks my red panda is cool. Remus and I read the chapter on transfiguring animals into statues and practiced the incantation out loud. I noticed that when he read, his lips moved, like he was barely whispering. When it came time to perform the spell, we pointed our wands at our pets and said the incantation. "conversus ad statuam." our beloved pets turned at once to magnificent statues. John Lennon turned into a beautiful grey stone statue, like the kind you'd see during easter. Suki turned into a classic chinese garden statue.

Professor McGonagall walked around the room looking at the students work. "Well, this is very impressive." she said looking at our work. "Most students only manage to turn it part way to a statue or they turn it into a topiary. But this, this is very good work. Well done Miss James, you are already doing wonderfully. I have no doubt that you will flourish here. 10 points to Gryffindor.I'm very happy to have another intelligent addition to this house."

Remus looked at me and smiled "Wow. You haven't even been here a full 24 hours and she already loves you. How lucky."

"Does she hate you guys?"

"What Sirius said is true; McGonagall does like us, but she's more like a mother. We're troublemakers see, and McGonagall gets disappointed in us sometimes, but she cares about us. She helps us when we need it. She's our favorite."

McGonagall told us to turn our pets back from stone. Again, Remus and I performed the spell perfectly. "turn ex statuam" transfiguration class ended and Remus and I ended up getting 15 points for Gryffindor. We met up with the others and walked to the dungeons to Potions class.

The dungeons were dank and moist, but inside the Potions classroom was brightly lit, with a jolly fat man standing in the middle. Dozens of cauldrons sat on tables around the room. "Aha. There are my bright pupils." Said the professor. "Come in come in, find a table to sit at. To our new students, My name is Professor Slughorn, and welcome to potions."

I sat down next to Remus, Lily, and James. I looked over at Mary who was laughing at one of Sirius' jokes. From what I could tell, it was pretty funny. Mary tensed up when Sirius put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at me nervously and I gave her a thumbs up.

"Today, I thought we'd start out with something fun." said the professor. "This may be a bit advanced, but let's start out with the Drought of Living Death. The recipe will be found on page 10."

The recipe didn't seem that difficult, but something didn't make sense. The bean constantly moved if you tried to cut it, so I crushed it. Across the room I saw the greasy boy sirius threw eggs at earlier writing things down in his book. When time was up, I presented my potion to the professor. "My my, this potion is very well done indeed Miss James, especially considering this is a seventh year potion, you should have been in Slytherin. "

When the class ended, we walked to History of Magic together. Sirius was right, that class was so tedious and boring that I seriously struggled to stay awake. Almost as soon as we sat down, James and Sirius fell asleep.

The next class was Charms. Once again, Sirius was right. Professor Flitwick was short as shit. But the class was fun. The spell we learned today was the cease and pull charm. He had us partner up and practice on each other. I was more than shocked when Remus asked Lily to be his partner. I was sure he would have asked me, but I guess it was one-sided. That left me with James. Neither of us was overjoyed at the fact, but we didn't complain, he's a friend. Mary, however, couldn't stop herself from smiling

"Delilah." Mary ran up to me and grabbed my arm. "Sirius just asked if I wanted to be his partner!"

"Mary that's awesome!" I tried to sound thrilled, but I looked back to see Remus and Lily laughing.

"I know! He wants to perform a charm that pulls me to him! Should I "accidentally" bump into him?"

Mary was obviously way past the point of liking Sirius. It was clear to me that she loved him. I couldn't help but feel happy for her. James stood across the classroom. We agreed to have a race to see who could perform the spell faster. As soon as we turned around to face each other, I pulled out my wand and said, "Carpe Retractum! " before he could deflect it, James' arms stuck to him like he was tied up by a rope. The spell pulled him towards me, and before we could collide, I jumped out of the way so he would slam right into the wall.

"Fuck you Delilah that bloody hurt like shit. But that was good. 10 out of 10, you have earned your pranking wings."

"My wings?" i said glaring at him. "If you had even the tiniest glimpse at the pranks i pulled at Ilvermorny, you'd induct me into your group of Marauders right away."

I looked over to see Lily flying right into Remus' arms. They both laughed loudly. Damn they would make a great couple.

"You should ask Remus out." James said

"What? But I don't-"

"I see the way you look at each other. Hell, he talked about you all night and he never talks at night."

"But i think he likes Lily. I mean look at them."

"I agree, but i have to remain hopeful that she'll see how much i love her. But if there's anyone I'd rather her date than me, it'd be Remus."

Next we went to Defence Against the Dark Arts. it was easily the most fun class and not just because my mom taught it. She wasted no time in teaching us jinxes and hexes that would come in handy.

The rest of the day passed and it was time for dinner. I sat down in the Great Hall next to Lily and the girls. Remus and his friends talked. Later that night, we all discussed our love interests. Luckily, me and Lily managed to stay off the topic of who we like. Marlene and Dorcas couldn't have been more obvious about who they like: each other. Honestly, I can totally see them together and i'm glad they're dating. Well, they haven't come out to the whole school yet. Mary was positively glowing. She and sirius wouldn't stop staring at each other.

That night in the dorm, i couldn't stop thinking about how Remus and Lily acted in Charms. I considered what James said: If i wanted Remus to date anyone besides me, it would be Lily.

As the weeks passed everyone began to get excited about Quidditch tryouts. Of course i decided to try out because i was captain for my team in America. When the time for tryouts came, i was the first there.

"Delilah." james said as he walked over in his quidditch robes. "You're trying out? I didn't even know you played quidditch."

"Quidditch may not be a very popular sport in America, but the school still has house teams. One of the founders loved Hogwarts - even though she never attended- and tried to make it as similar as she could. I was Captain of the Thunderbird house team." I said proudly.

"Well great! What position did you play?"

"I am a chaser. As I understand you have an open spot on your team for a chaser? I'll be trying out for that."

Tryouts could not have gone better for me. I was easily one of the best fliers there and scored every time. James was smiling widely at me and constantly told the other people who were trying out to watch the way i streaked through the sky and put the Quaffle through the hoops. As soon as I touched down again, James came running towards me followed by Remus, Sirius, Lily and the girls. "Wow! Delilah I had no idea you were that good at Quidditch! All the others can go home, you are immediately on the team. With you on our side, we might actually win the cup!" he then pulled me into a tight bear-like hug and dashed off to tell the rest of the team.

"That was Bloody Brilliant Delilah!" Sirius said as he too lifted me up. "Ravenclaw better loosen their grip on that cup 'cause it's gonna be ours this year!"

Each of the girls congratulated me on my flying.

"Well done Delilah. That was some expert flying there." Remus said impressed. "Don't tell James this," he said now lowering his voice to a whisper and and bringing his face closer to mine. "but I think you flew better than him-and that is saying something."

I blushed my face now matched the scarlet robes i was wearing. When Marlene mentioned it to me, I told her it was because the cold wind blew on my face.


End file.
